


My Liontine

by rosegardenlake



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Childhood Friends, High School, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Sheithlentines 2019, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 17:29:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17871659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegardenlake/pseuds/rosegardenlake
Summary: It's a well known fact at school: everyone loves Shiro.  Keith and him have been best friends since before they were even born - being next door neighbors and all that - but still, Keith is not immune.  He's been crushing on Shiro for years now too; who hasn't, honestly?Keith's okay with the way things are though.  He knows Shiro loves him, even if it's not in the exact way he wishes.  But when Keith thinks he sees Shiro confessing to someone else on Valentine's Day, he realizes maybe he's not ready to let his best friend go.If only he didn't forget to write his name on his confession, maybe then, Shiro would finally understand his feelings.





	My Liontine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kelefante](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelefante/gifts).



> I was a pinchhitter for Rainbowbike88!! Happy Valentine's Day!! I hope you like this!!!
> 
> I hope everyone had a really great one. <333

Keith sits over the windowsill ledge on the top floor of their school’s hallway, leaning out into the day’s warm breezy air, eyes closed.  The sun’s warmth presses against his eyelids and runs down the length of his neck, teasing the edges of his collar - a welcome feeling during a long and cold winter.

It’s peaceful here.  His headphones are firmly intact and there’s no one he has to answer to, no thoughts he’s obligated to think.  He’s just enjoying the quiet moment to himself, loving it, when he feels a hand close around his shoulder.

Keith jumps and blinks his eyes open, losing his balance a bit and feeling as his weight shifts backward - out the window.  But it’s no matter; he’s already being guided back by that hand, inside the hallway, safe. There’s only one person who makes him feel that way, who doesn’t make his gut clench in discomfort.

It’s Shiro.

Shiro with a crease in his brow and a frown on his face.  When he sees Keith’s safely inside the school’s hallways, he allows himself to sigh loudly, shaking his head in disapproval.  “ _Keith_.  How many times do I have to tell you to _stop_ hanging out the window like that?  We’re on the second story. You’re going to kill yourself one of these days.”

Keith snorts and readjusts his hands on the ledge, tossing himself back out into the sun’s warmth with a small amused laugh, tilting his head up to the wide open blue sky and kicking his feet up for good measure.  He can hear Shiro groaning with distress from inside. “I thought this is what you’ve always wanted for me? I’m working out my core _and_ getting some quality vitamin D.”

Shiro snorts, mischievous glint to his eye, but he puts both of his hands to his hips - a butt-kicking pose.  “Yeah? If you _really_ want to get a workout, you’ll wake up early and come work out with me in my gym.  I’ll make you one of my superfood smoothies.”

“God, no,” Keith laughs.  “And I don’t think your parents’ _basement_ counts as a _gym._ ”

“Keith, come on, stop hanging out the window like that.  You’re seriously making me nervous.”

Keith chuckles, but he can see the way that Shiro really does worry for him, so he leans forward, out of harm’s way and jumps back into the hall.  “Fine, fine. I’ll stop with the acrobatics, but I’m _not_ waking up at five in the morning.  You’re crazy.”

Shiro sighs in relief, patting Keith on the back and guiding him from the window and down the hallway, toward class.  They’re already almost late. Shiro actually cares about things like that, so Keith lets himself be dragged. Shiro says,  “For you, I can make it five-thirty.”

“I can barely manage seven, honestly.”  He yawns for good measure, more dramatically than he needs to, getting up in Shiro’s face and leaning into his arm to really get the point across.

“Stop,” Shiro chuckles.  “I get it, I _get it_.  You are so _rude_.”

He goes to nudge Keith away with a playful push, who isn’t paying attention to his surroundings.  He runs straight into the mass of streamers hanging down from the walls and ceiling.

“Gah!”  Keith harps, taking a swipe at all the streamers tickling his face.  Everywhere lately. Everyone loves a holiday. They crinkle as he pushes them away and narrows his eyes behind him as they sink back into place.  “All this pink Valentine crap everywhere! Pink balloons, pink streamers, damn pink confetti! What are we - in _elementary_?  Valentine’s day is today _only_ , not all damn week!  I can’t _wait_ until the dance is finally _here_ and passes.  I’m tired of hearts in my hair,” he despairs as he picks a tiny pink cut out from his bangs.

Shiro stares at the banner up above filled with hearts and plump arrow-carrying babies.  He hums, small smile on his lips. “It’s not so bad. It’s kind of fun, right? You going?”

“ _Me_?”  Keith blinks over at him, flicking the decoration away.  “At a dance? Do you even _know_ me?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Shiro tilts his head a bit as he fixes his gaze on Keith.  “I was thinking of going this time.”

“ _You_?”  Keith squawks and several other students turn to stare.

Shiro blushes and ducks his head behind his hand as he rubs at his nose.

The smile drops off of Keith’s face as he stares at Shiro’s reaction.  Keith’s known Shiro all his life, it’s true, and very rarely does he _blush_.  “Someone asked you,” Keith says sharply, a weird pinching feeling in his gut.  Something ugly rises up inside of him, something he tries to keep in control. It feels a lot like jealousy, though he’s not even sure who he’s jealous of yet.

Shiro clears his throat and shakes his head.  “No, it’s not that. Um...it’s kinda dumb...”

Keith pushes his face up closer to Shiro’s.  “What is it?”

Shiro squirms beneath his look.  “Well, I may’ve had a dream last night...  That, uh...the person I like...that we’ll go together...”  He clears his throat, looking anywhere but at Keith. The bell rings above them, loud and obnoxious, and Shiro’s the kind that cannot _stand_ being late, but still, he doesn’t budge.  He stares bullets down at his shoes, clears his throat and says in a small timid voice Keith’s not sure he’s heard before, even in their seventeen years of growing up together, “...Maybe, uh...maybe you and I can...go together...”

Keith’s still wrapped up in shock.  “You _like_ someone?  You’ve never told me before. _Who_?”  They’ve been unlikely friends since forever, neighbors and all that, and Keith knows everything about Shiro - _everything_ \- but he doesn’t know about this and he almost can’t believe it.

He quickly runs through his head of every interaction he’s seen Shiro have recently and he cannot, for the life of him, think of who it might be.  Who does Shiro laugh with most? Who does Shiro smile with most? Keith tries to squeeze the answer out of his brain. He’s got to know this, right?

Shiro clears his throat and rubs the back of his head, deliberately turning away from Keith so he can’t see his face.  “That’s... I mean, did you not want to go?” He asks. “I was just thinking, we’re seniors and this year is coming to a close already...  We won’t get another chance. We could have fun together...” He says meekly, his cheeks still burning.

Keith shakes his head, perplexed.  “Like a double date or something? But I...I don’t have anyone to go with.”

Shiro blinks.  “N-no. Not a double date...”

“What?  Don’t think I can get a date?  You’d really let me trail around as a third wheel?”

“No!”  Shiro says in surprise.  “No, not that! I, uh...”  He clears his throat and shifts again, looking down the hallway, face a little lost.  After another long moment, he says, “...I guess a double date would be okay...”

“Huh...”  Keith thinks about it.  Shiro doesn’t often ask for things, not from Keith.  He looks awkward, he must be nervous to go. He must want Keith for support.  So Keith says, “I-I guess we can do a double date sort of thing.” He hums lowly, barely daring to have hope,  “...Maybe the person I like will ask me too.”

It’s Shiro’s turn to stare.  “... _You_ like someone?”  There’s shock on his face at first, maybe a flicker of something else, but before Keith even sees it, Shiro’s leaning forward and grinning widely.  He reaches up to ruffle Keith’s hair playfully. “ _Keith_?   _Keith Kogane_ likes someone?  Who?”

“ _Stop_ ,” Keith grumbles, using both hands to push Shiro’s face out of his.  “It’s a super huge secret. The biggest. I have to carry it with me to my grave.”

“ _Wow_.  Keith Kogane, liking someone...  Do I know them?”

“ _Nope_.”

“Come on, Keith.  Tell me. It will haunt me if I don’t know.  I won’t be able to think about anything else all day.  Someone who meets _your_ standards?  They must be pretty cool.”

Keith shrugs.  “Cooler than you’d know.”

“Tell me.”

“Not even in your dreams.”

“I think maybe in my dreams.”

“Nope.  Nu-uh. Never.  Even dream-me knows better than that.  Nice try though.”

The sound of loud footfall echoes through the empty hall and they both turn, seeing a teacher’s assistant approach.  Late as they’re becoming, they’ll get in trouble if they stay. Still, Shiro doesn’t go to class.

“Pfft,” Shiro smiles crookedly as he straightens back up and glances sideways at Keith.  “...I hope the person you like asks you, Keith.”

“Well,” Keith breathes, shrugging out his shoulders.  Somehow, hearing that from Shiro makes him feel a bit better.  “I hope the person you like asks you too.”

Shiro shrugs.  “If not, I’ll just wait outside their window with a boombox to serenade them.  Foolproof.”

“ _Wow_ ,” Keith snorts and pushes against him, knocking the side of his head against Shiro’s shoulder.  “We’re not in the 80’s anymore, you know. And some people actually think you’re charming and witty...  God, you need help. What’s something _not_ outdated?  What’s something timeless?”

Shiro laughs, stretching his neck out and down as he crosses his arms and hums.  “A Valentine maybe? Perfect day for it.”

“Ah, yes.  Floating naked cherubs with sharp arrows.  And pink confetti that gets in eyes. The perfect day.  Not overloading with hearts _at all_.  The confession will definitely be a big contrast to the season.  Such a surprise.”

“Who says it needs to be a surprise to work?”

“A Valentine is a good idea,” Keith admits.  “I’m just...” he tosses his hand up at the pink stuff above.  “ _Tired_ of it.”

“Even if it was a confession from the person you like?”

Keith thinks about it for a moment.  An honest, truthful moment. “...Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Maybe this year, we’ll both get what we want...” Shiro says, smiling happily at Keith.  There’s brightness in his eyes that transcends hope and goes straight on to belief, the second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.

The teacher’s assistant reaches them.  “Kogane, what are you still doing out here?  The bell rang minutes ago. Do you want detention again?  You can’t just loiter out here in the halls. Shiro... Is he holding you here?”

Keith tsks and rolls his eyes as Shiro steps forward, saying,  “I’m sorry, it’s me who held him back. I had to ask him something for class.”

The teacher’s assistant eyes the both of them suspiciously before walking around them and saying grumpily, “Move along then.  You can ask later.”

With one last smile at the other, Shiro and Keith part and Keith can finally let go of the facade.  It was starting to hurt his cheeks - the tension that built beneath that fake smile. Keith sits at his desk and hangs his head to sigh out his disappointment and hurt.

So.  Shiro has someone he likes.  Someone close enough where he’s confident they like him back, that they’ll make a move, go to the dance together.  ...Live happily ever after together...

Shiro is a social butterfly.  He knows so many people that Keith, as introverted as he is, definitely hasn’t been keeping up.  He has no idea who it could be, not that it matters.

Wow...they’re so lucky.  Whoever Shiro likes is the luckiest.  And Keith. Keith is not.

It is clear the person Keith likes will not be asking him to the dance this year, not like Shiro hopes, no.

Well, it’s not like he ever expected Shiro to like him anyway.

 

Pidge is turned around at her desk, leaning onto Keith’s, drawing little designs onto the edges of his homework as he frowns into it.

“You should probably do your homework before the day it’s due,” she says.

“Shut it,” Keith murmurs, head buried into the page, scribbling at the speed of light.

She doodles around a question.  “You’ve got this answer wrong.”

He grunts and keeps going.

“Like, _really_ wrong.  The ‘you won’t be getting any points for it’ kind of wrong.”

He heaves a huge sigh but doesn’t go back so she caves, tapping the wrong answer and saying, “It’s _seventeen_.  We’re going over it together later, though.”

He quickly erases his answer and puts down hers.  “Thanks, Pidge. I forgot how badly I’m doing in this class...   _God_ ,” he groans.  “My mom’s going to kill me if I can’t raise this grade.”

“You have a _B_.  It’s not that bad.”

He agonizes.  “It’s a B _minus_.”

Pidge chuckles under her breath - she wouldn’t understand such problems, she always has everything right - and looks out the window, into the quad.

“Hey, look.  It’s Shiro. Your BFF looks so lonely without you out there.  What’s he even got in his hand? Think it’s a _Valentine_?”

“ _No_ ,” Keith grumbles.  “He would _tell_ me.”

“It _looks_ like a Valentine.”

“... _Pidge_.  I’ve _got_ to finish this.  I’m not kidding.”

“Oh, my god.  Keith. Keith, _look_.”

He tsks, ignoring her as he blazes through another problem.  Only...three-fourths more.

“Vapid Bitch A!”  She breathes. “She’s getting up.  Look. Oh, my god.”

Keith doesn’t even respond, even as Pidge leans across the side of his desk and grabs onto his shoulder, using him as leverage to pull herself forward so she can look out the window.  Her pencil bag topples over and all her writing utensils roll out onto his page. He grunts, tossing them back into the bag in irritation as he gets back to it.

“She’s going to ask _Shiro_!”  Pidge whisper-yells into Keith’s ear and suddenly his attention is caught.

He looks up, frowning, ears pricking up like a dog at attention.  He doesn’t even notice as the pencils fall over again, rolling from his desk and away.  “Who? What? Where?” He twists and pushes his face to the window.

Oh.  Vapid Bitch A.  Yeah, Keith knows who Pidge is talking about.  Everyone loves her. _Everyone_.  There’s a special charisma about her that sends people’s heads turning after her, little glittering sparkles falling off of her as she shakes out her hair.  The twinkling little laugh. The soft floral smell that rolls off of her whenever she walks past.

Yeah.  Vapid Bitch A.  Keith will admit that, when he first saw her, she had charmed even him, at first -  the Shiro kind of charming, effortless, something that’s just _engraved_ into their hearts.  But he’s over it now.

Not over this though.

He clears his throat and shifts uncomfortably, remembering how Shiro was waiting to be asked, hoping.  This couldn’t be it...could it?  “Scrapbook girl? ...No way. Good luck to her, but I’m telling you, he’s gay.  Have you seen the way he sits?”

Pidge snorts, leaning her head against Keith’s as they spy.  “Scrapbook girl? What the hell’s with that nickname?”

“And what the hell’s with yours?  I dunno. She was in my home ec class and she was good at stationary stuff.  What’s that have to do with anything? I’m telling you, he’s not going to accept.”

Vapid Bitch A taps Shiro on the shoulder and he turns from the object in his hand and pulls his attention up to her.  He grins brightly, the way that Shiro does, and she grins back, so beautiful.

Keith feels uneasiness jump into his throat.

They can’t hear what they’re saying from over here, but their expressions are telling.  Vapid Bitch A is giggling away, the petals from the tree delicately detaching themselves in the early spring weather, spinning them through her hair and over her small cute shoulders.

The perfect confession scenery.

Their earlier conversation suddenly plays through Keith’s mind.  Confessions. Crushes. Valentines.

No.  No. It wouldn’t work.  Shiro would never go for it.  Not him.

“...He’s not going to accept,” Keith murmurs again, but he hates the way he sounds more hopeful than confident.

“...You sure?”  Pidge hums.

“I _know_ ,” Keith says.

He waits for the moment she takes the card from her bag, for when she hands it over and asks him, only to be rejected.

But it’s Shiro who stands.  It’s Shiro who has that something in his hands - a card, Keith realizes.  A red card. A valentine’s day card.

...Shiro holds it to his chest, like it’s something precious, something he worked hard on.

And then he gives it to her.

And Keith feels like he’s been very very wrong in his assumptions.  Everything inside of him just _sinks_.

Shiro’s blushing.   _Shiro_.   _Blushing_.

“Oh, shit,” Keith breathes.

Pidge tosses a hesitant look at Keith.  “...M-maybe she just... Maybe it’s...?”  But she can’t think of an excuse for him fast enough and Keith’s heart sinks further.

He thought he knew everything about Shiro...  But even he can’t deny the look on Shiro’s face.  The warmth as he looks down at the card in her hands as she looks over it carefully, smiling into the card as she unfolds it.

Oh, god.

...Oh, god.  He can’t even look anymore.  He turns away, sick.

His hands clench into tight little fists in the shadows beneath his desk.

He had been so foolish to hope, even quietly, buried in the depths of his mind, that it could’ve been him instead...

Keith presses his lips together tightly, ignoring the way Pidge’s jest has fallen from her and she’s gone quiet.

“Keith, I-”  Words fail her.  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think -  ...I thought he’d reject her.”

He thought so too.  He was so certain. He’s not sure what happened...

Keith takes in a long deep breath.  “...It’s okay,” he murmurs quietly. “...I didn’t really have much hope anyway.”

She presses her lips together tightly as she leans back and he looks down at her.  He knows she can see the hurt on his face. It’s sitting like a rock in his throat, and though he expected it, it still hurts.

“...He adores you,” she says and he knows she’s right.  But why doesn’t it ever feel like enough?

 

Keith mopes for the rest of the day, lying out on his stupid bed at home, closing his stupid eyes, listening to his stupid music.  He knows he has no right; Shiro was never _his_ .  Keith never had a claim over Shiro, but somehow, he still feels robbed.  They’d been best friends for so long. Ages. It _felt_ like they belonged to the other.

He and Shiro walked home from school together, but Keith couldn’t even _pretend_ to be okay for him and he was quiet and unsociable and he definitely hurt Shiro’s feelings and raised so many red flags.  But who doesn’t know Shiro well enough to know he doesn’t push? Shiro didn’t ask. He let Keith have his space.

And he failed his assignment in class.  For what? For _what_ ?  To see Shiro ask stupid Vapid Bitch A to the dance?  God, and she’s _nice_ too.  Keith can’t even properly hate her.  Vapid Bitch A is a shitty unfair title coated in bitterness.  And god, is Keith bitter.

Ugh.

Keith rolls onto his stomach and shoves his face into his pillow.

Third wheel.  He knows, since Shiro had asked, that he’s going to go to the dance with his best friend anyway.  Even if he’s _just_ second best.  The lame, unwanted, third wheel.  ...He doesn’t want to be that to Shiro.

Stupid heart.  Stupid feelings.  Stupid Keith.

All of his earliest memories are with Shiro.  Shiro is his comfort, his constant, the buoy in the middle of a wide confusing ocean, keeping him afloat.  What if his buoy drifts away?

There’s a knock on his window.

Keith heaves a sigh and peeks over the blanket to look out into the night outside, where Shiro is leaning against the windowsill and staring in, grey eyes catching the moonlight.

They make eye contact.  Shiro is the first to speak, voice muffled and soft with understanding, “Need some privacy?”

Keith rolls onto his side and sits up, yanking the window pane up for Shiro before letting himself fall back onto his back.  Cool night air streams in with the soft sounds of their neighborhood outside. “...You _know_ I leave it unlocked for you.”  For how many years has it been that way and _still_ Shiro asks.

“I can come back later if you’re not in the mood to hang out,” Shiro says, still not entering.

“Mmf,” Keith grunts, scooting to the edge of the bed, making more obvious space for Shiro.  Keith opens his arm for him so he finally crawls through the opening and closes the window gently.  He turns back and lies out beside Keith, nestling into his open arm, and they stare up at the ceiling together, quiet.

Keith can hear his mom walking through the hallways beyond his closed door.  Living side-by-side like this, houses so closely pressed together that they can literally climb out their own windows and into the other’s, Keith and Shiro have been stuck at the hip since forever.  Family barbecues, annual camping trips, even doctor’s appointments - all done together. If Krolia were to walk in right now, eleven at night, and see Shiro laid out beside Keith, their heads bumped against the other in sleep, it’d be just another day in the Kogane residence.

“I totally failed that psych test,” Shiro mutters into the silence.  “I even read the chapter last night.”

“ _Holding_ the book while watching me play video games is _not_ reading.”

Shiro chuckles.  “...What if it’s a good video game?”

“Ask your grades.”

Shiro laughs again.  “How’d you do?”

It’s Keith’s turn to laugh wearily as he runs a hand down his face.  “...Worse than you probably. I could tell you how helpful fucking Donald is in a battle though.   _Not very_.”

“I’m sure you did great...”  He hums softly and then turns, looking over Keith’s face with gentle observance.

It’s okay if Shiro does it.  There’s never any judgement in his eyes.

“You okay...?”  Shiro asks, breath nearly a whisper.  “You’ve been so quiet since lunch.”

“Ah...”  He knocks their knees together and reaches for Shiro’s hand, pressing his thumb into his veins.  “...Yeah. I just...” He heaves a sigh, reaching into that raw part of himself. “Since we’re both being all open about it and everything...I just...  I think the person I like won’t ask me to the dance after all. So now I’m all -” He wiggles his hands in the air like that’ll explain it. “I’ll be fine.”

Shiro tilts his head to the side so their heads bump.  “...Why would you think that? Did you confess?”

“No.  I just kind of have a sinking suspicion they like someone else.”

“Over you?  There’s no way that can be true.”

Keith takes in a deep breath.  “...You know, it’s okay, even if they do.  They looked happy.” He tries to stir some energy back into himself.  Shiro was excited for this day and Keith shouldn’t be this dark cloud, ruining it for him.  “I hope you’ve asked the person you like to the dance. Given them a Valentine - the whole thing.  Do I still get to be your third wheel at the dance?”

Shiro laughs.  “Keith. You could never be my third wheel.”

“You have _two_ dates?  Man, I have to be a _fourth_ wheel?”

He fixes Keith with a steady warm gaze.  “Never. You’re always my first. My right hand man.  My brother in arms.”

“Hm,” Keith hums.  “...That’s pretty cool, I guess.”

“I’d like to think so.”

“You too, Shiro,” Keith whispers.  “You’re my brother too.”

“I know,” Shiro pats Keith’s knee as he props himself up on his elbows.  “...I’m sorry about the person you like. You should let them know you like them, though.  They’d be crazy not to like you.”

“Eh,” Keith grunts as he rubs at his eyes.  It’s getting late. They have school tomorrow.  “It’s fine. I’ll be okay. Sorry for being all mopey.  It just sort of hit me harder than I thought it would.”

“Maybe...I mean, maybe you and I can just both go together.  No one else. Just the two of us. As friends,” Shiro tries.

Keith shakes his head.  “I know you wanted to go with the person you liked.”

Shiro is quiet for awhile.  “You don’t have to go alone, Keith.  I’m always here for you.”

“I know, Shiro,” Keith whispers, reaching forward and wrapping his arms around Shiro’s shoulders.  Shiro holds him back tightly - there hasn’t been space between them since the day they were born - and god, does it feel nice.  Yes, he can be Shiro’s brother. He could be like this for the rest of his life and he’d be so damn lucky. He holds Shiro tighter for one moment, enjoying the warmth of Shiro’s own arms wrapped tightly around Keith’s back.  Regretfully, he lets go.

“Tomorrow will be better,” Keith nods, sniffing.  “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Shiro whispers.  “...Ask him.”

Keith chuckles.  “Who says it’s a guy?”

He tilts his head and fixes Keith with an amused look.  “I know all of you, okay?”

“...Yeah?  I thought that about him too...  Anyway,” Keith whispers. “...’Night, Shiro.”

With one last tight hug, Shiro’s crawling out the window and onto the roof.  He stops before he closes the window, his scent lingering in the air around Keith.  “...Goodnight, Keith. Sweet dreams.”

Keith snorts.  Always a gentleman.  “And sweet dreams to you, too.”

Keith stays there for a bit, not so enthusiastic about racing to sleep.  It just means dreams and thoughts, which probably will just be full of Shiro’s new girlfriend.

...Keith still can’t believe it.  He thought for sure...

He’s biting at his thumb nail and and frowning into his covers when he catches sight of Shiro in his peripheral, getting ready in his room.  He’s changed out of his day clothes and he’s in his pjs, face washed, ready for bed.

Shiro looks up and sees Keith through the window.  His expression warms over so damn much.

“Go to sleep,” Shiro mouths, pointing at Keith firmly as he crawls onto his own bed.

Keith flips him off, but chuckles and he can see the way Shiro grins back, such a familiar fond look in his eyes.  He waves one last time before finally drawing the covers over his legs, giving Keith another ‘go to sleep’ sort of look, and turning off the light.

Keith used to have nightmares a lot as a boy.  Shiro stopped using curtains then and they both haven’t since.  Still, seeing Shiro this closely brings him comfort.

But yeah, Shiro’s right; he should go to bed.  Keith sighs his way out of his room and makes his way to the bathroom.  His mom’s in there already, getting ready for the night herself, rubbing cream into her face.

She smiles when she sees him.  “Hey there,” she says, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead.  It’s all lotion-y and Keith rubs at the spot. “Was that Shiro I just heard?  His mom came over today.”

“You guys are _always_ talking together.  How is this news?”

She smiles patiently.  “Well, she was telling me about _you_.  Things I didn’t even know.”

“Ah, god.  You know how Shiro and his mom love to talk.  They have a _gift_.  It doesn’t mean I’m keeping secrets from you or anything.”

She chuckles.  “I know. She’s always been that way, even in high school, just like Shiro.  She said the both of you are going to the dance?”

Keith’s mood sinks further.  “Oh... I dunno. Shiro wants to go with the person he likes and I don’t want to be the lame clingy brother type, you know?”

Krolia frowns and arches an eyebrow at him in the mirror.  “...The...what?”

Keith shrugs as he grabs his toothbrush and roots around through the drawer for toothpaste.  This is awkward and he doesn’t want to step on the ‘ _you like_ WHO’ landmine.  “I dunno. I think I’ll just come up with some lame excuse at the last second and leave him to it.”

“She told me the both of _you_ were going.  Together.”

Keith frowns too.  He just went over this.  “...No? No. He already asked the person he likes.  It’s not _me_.”

But she looks so confused.

After he brushes his teeth, Keith goes back into his room, ready to crash and mope in bed in the dark, alone, comforter pulled up to his chin.  But he stops as he sees something on his pillow, dropped where Shiro had just been lying.

It’s a Valentine.

Red and small and handmade and sweet.

God, it’s the one Shiro gave to Vapid Bitch A.  Or did she give it to him? It doesn’t matter. It’s the same Valentine that Shiro was holding today when they were laughing and chatting together.  The same exact damn one. Keith would recognize that tacky bright red envelope anywhere. The weird small size.

Shiro must’ve accidentally dropped it.  Was he carrying it around with himself all day?  And it just _happened_ to fall now?  God, why? This is way too cruel.

Keith just about wants to shake his fists to the sky, or toss the damn envelope out the window and right back into Shiro’s, but as he picks it up, he gets this terrible curious urge to peek.

What’s in Shiro’s heart?  Keith thought he knew, but apparently he knows nothing.

...Shiro wouldn’t mind.  He really wouldn’t. Keith knows if he were to ask Shiro anything straight out, Shiro would most definitely give Keith what he wants.  Keith’s the same way. But that’s the thing that makes their relationship so great - they don’t _have_ to ask point blank.  They trust the other enough that they’ll tell their secrets in their own time.

...Keith should respect Shiro.  He shouldn’t read this damn letter, but this bright red is calling to him and he just _has to know_.  He has to.

So he carefully turns the envelope and pulls out the Valentine.

Dammit, it’s so cute.  And it’s definitely done by Shiro’s hand...

There are two drawn lions - a red and black one, nestling together on a hill, in their rightful places, at the other’s side.

It’s the perfect card.

...Everyone knows Shiro loves lions.  It just _sucks_ that he chose to use a red lion for Vapid Bitch A...that’s sort of Keith’s thing...  Did Shiro really forget...?

Beneath the lions, the message says, “Will you be my liontine and go to the dance with me?”  There are two yeses. One is already circled.

Keith stares at the circled yes.  ...It hurts. There’s a large bump in his throat that keeps growing, making it painful to swallow.  He tries to pretend there’s no stinging in his eyes.

Shiro’s happy. That's what counts.

He closes the image away.  Keith has got to admit, this is the perfect card.  Shiro did so well. She’s so lucky...

Liontine.

...Dammit.  Dammit all. ...He wishes he had thought of that.  A way to Shiro’s heart.

Keith goes to bed with a pinched face and a sour stomach.  He has nightmares about Shiro’s confession out in the quad all night long.  The falling cherry blossom petals were so beautiful. Keith’s never felt more dismal.

 

In the morning, Shiro waits downstairs for Keith to get ready so they can walk to school together like they have every morning since they were little bean sprouts.  He’s left his bag on the couch and is leaning over the counter, laughing with Keith’s parents, so Keith takes the opportunity to slip the envelope back into Shiro’s bag without saying anything.  He doesn’t even want to think about it anymore.

He’s drearier than the night before and he knows he looks it - too afraid to even look at himself in the mirror this morning - but he feels especially lame when Shiro sees his face - and stops.

“...God, Keith,” Shiro whispers, tilting his head as he chases after him out the door.  “...Is this about last night? I’m so sorry...I knew I shouldn’t have... Did you want to talk?  We can go on the rooftop and ditch first period.”

Keith shakes his head.  “I’m fine. Just...” He sighs.

Shiro’s feet hit the cement as he thinks hard.  “... _Tell him_ , Keith.  The person you like.  I think it’ll do you a lot of good.”

“No, I _told you_.  I think he likes someone else,” Keith mumbles lowly, not able to look Shiro in the eyes.

Shiro deliberates.  “...Have you tried the Valentine card thing?  I mean, it might not work for all of us, but it’s the perfect time for it, isn’t it?  Write out your feelings. Tell him everything.”

“Easy for you to say...”  Keith mutters lowly.

“You never know what he might say.”

He gurgles.  “...Rejection.”

“Tell you what.  If he rejects you, you and I can ditch school for a week and go on that senior road trip you’ve been wanting to go on.  As long as you’re not uncomfortable with that...”

Keith snorts, looking up at him from beneath his eyelashes.  “You? Ditch?”

“Yeah...  And hey, how about this to get some color in your face: I’ll let you hang out the second story window like you enjoy doing and I won’t even complain, but only as long as I get to hold onto you.  For safety reasons.”

Keith snorts.  “That’ll look _stupid_.”  Not to mention, the usual reason he goes up there to look into the sky is to be alone.

“But you’ll be _safe_.”

Keith smiles crookedly.  This warm feeling blooming back in his chest doesn’t feel like one of doubt.

He lets himself be pulled upstairs by Shiro, to the window.  They both sit on the edge and look up, together.

And it’s nice, being in this little pocket of them, leaning into the sky’s untamable breeze, the sun warming up the cold.  Bright blue sky swallows the whole world. Keith’s with the one he trusts most. All is well.

Here, beside Shiro, he feels like he can do anything.

He tilts his head back, murmuring lowly, “...You really think I should tell him?”

Shiro tilts his head to the side to look back at Keith.  “Yeah,” he whispers. “Yeah, I do... He deserves to know he has the most gorgeous senior crushing after him.  And you deserve to be honest with yourself.”

“...Yeah,” Keith nods.  “Yeah, you’re right. I want to tell him.  I’m going to do it. I’m going to give my Valentine to my crush.”

Shiro encourages firmly, “You’ll be great, Keith.  No matter what. And don’t worry about me...alright?”

Keith tilts his head.  Why would he worry?

Shiro is usually right about things, so Keith goes to first period and spends the whole time in the back, painstakingly cutting out a card and gluing out heart designs by hand.  It’s stupid. He knows it is. Shiro already has someone and Keith saw that with his own eyes, but...this is just so they’re honest with each other. Just so they both know where they stand.

He searches the internet on his phone for the corniest Valentines day line he can find.  Shiro is a sucker for corny and maybe if there’s a joke, it’ll be easier to play the whole thing off if it goes badly.  Keith finds and writes, “Do you like cats? Because I’d like to take you meowt for Valentines Day”. He draws two cats sitting and watching the sunset together, just like them.

Feelings?  What are those?  He seals it and waits.

Yeah.  Yeah, he can do this.  Shiro loves cats. If nothing else, there’s that.

Keith isn’t even scared that he’ll lose Shiro after this.  God, no. Shiro’s too damn _good_ to abandon Keith over something like... _feelings_.  But still, Keith’s heart is beating at a million miles per hour.

He thinks about it, running his finger along the edges of the envelope.

Nope.  No. He definitely can’t present it to Shiro like he thought he could.

He takes the cowardly route: in between classes, he makes a detour and slips it into Shiro’s locker.  It’s fine, right? Lions are sort of their thing - it’s even their school mascot - so Shiro would understand it’s Keith if he mentions a cat.  Probably. It makes _sense_.

Shiro’s the kind of person who doesn’t jam his backpack full of books to carry the weight around unnecessarily like Keith does.  He actually uses his locker throughout the day, so he’ll for sure see the Valentine soon. And he won’t leave Keith waiting.

But, after class, the books Shiro is holding have changed, and he doesn’t say anything.  When he sees Keith, he just smiles and waves, like nothing’s wrong.

...Maybe he hasn’t decided how to address it yet.  Keith spends the entire next period bouncing his leg and gnawing at his fingers in anxiousness, but when class ends, Keith goes out of his way to see Shiro again, and he just laughs, saying, “we keep bumping into each other!”  But he doesn’t mention the card.

Another period passes.  And another. And another.  And Shiro’s not addressing it.  Keith’s sweating and anxious and Shiro doesn’t say a word.

It’s apparent.

A mistake.  Keith made a mistake.

...He should’ve followed his gut.  He knew it. Last night, when he looked at the letter Girl A gave to Shiro, he should’ve known it would be inappropriate to try to be all shady and hand out his feelings like that.

...Why did he do that...?

At the end of the day, when Shiro greets him, ready for their walk back, he can see the cut out Valentine he had made Shiro poking out the corner of his bag.  Shiro says nothing about it. It just sits there in his bag, tossed in carelessly, like the trash it probably is.

Keith tries not to look, tries not to register it.  He feels something shrivel up inside of him and he doesn’t want to be here anymore.  Doesn’t want to talk at all.

He knows now what this silence means.  Rejection. ...Shiro’s just letting Keith off easily.  But in his heart, it’s still a big resounding ‘no’ to Keith, pressed up against his face with red marker.

“...Hey,” Shiro hums as they start their walk through the afternoon sidewalks, through the falling petals from the cherry trees.

“Hey,” Keith clears his throat and tries to speak regularly, but it’s hard.  “I-I’m sorry. Really sorry. About today. We don’t have to talk about it. I just...I didn’t mean to hurt you.  That’s the last thing I want.”

“No, Keith,” Shiro says, nodding, though he turns his face.  “I get it. It’s okay. You don’t have to feel guilty. We’re better off as friends anyway...”

“Y-yeah,” Keith breathes sharply, but it feels like a punch in the gut.  “... _Yeah_.  Of course.  I... You’re right.”

They walk in silence.  Shiro hangs his head quietly, shifting his bag on his shoulder.  Though he’s the one who just rejected Keith, somehow, he still seems upset.  Keith’s the one who likes to brood. Shiro knows how to handle that. But Shiro’s been surprising Keith in many ways lately.  He’s not usually this dark.

“So, um...”  Shiro tries and then trails off.  He sighs heavily and then begins again, voice even quieter, “...Are you still going to the dance then...?  Did you...find someone to go with?”

Maybe boyfriends is out of the cards, but brothers will never be.  Shiro had been so excited. Keith says softly, “Can _we_ still go to the dance together...?”

Shiro blinks over at Keith in surprise.  “...Us?”

He cringes on the inside.  Presumptuous after a rejection.  “As friends? Maybe? Just like...to walk there.  I can always go find Pidge after. Force her to go.  Something like that.”

The corner of Shiro’s lips turn up slightly as he watches Keith with so much fondness.  “...You’d come with me still? It’s a Valentines day dance. It’s supposed to be couples only.  You won’t be embarrassed?”

“Pfft.  I won’t mind being a third wheel.  But I want to go with my best friend - you.  Is that selfish?”

“Selfish?” Shiro breathes out, vulnerability piercing his eyes, but then he laughs, true warmth blazing.  “ _Yeah_.  Let’s both go together.  Friend date.”

“ _Best_ friend date.”  Keith leans his head on Shiro’s shoulder and hums as Shiro wraps his arm around his waist and pulls him in closely.  They fall back into their comfortable ease together.

Despite the rejection, Keith feels lucky.  Keith feels blessed.

 

Shiro wears a tux.  Keith has seen him in a tux, sure, when they were like twelve at his aunt’s wedding and they were both ring bearers, but that was before puberty.  That was before _this_ \- this fluttery feeling in his chest that makes Keith warm and whole and alive.  That was before Shiro woke up at five every morning to work out and drink protein shakes.  Keith still can’t peel himself out of bed before seven, so he really can admire such a rare hard-earned build, especially when it’s on someone as angelic as Shiro.

“You look really good,” Keith breathes out in awe.

Shiro blushes and rubs a hand over the back of his hair, chuckling.  “...You too, Keith.”

And they go together.

When they walk hand in hand into the gym, yeah, students stare, but fuck them.  Keith loves Shiro, friends or brothers or whatever, and their bond is worth anything.  Keith’s not giving that up, even if it’s just a little bit - the small loss of warmth from giving up hand contact.

There’s that pink crap _everywhere_.  If Keith thought the school halls were bad, he sure underestimated the power of dance decorations.  It’s a monstrosity here - tied and laced to every bit of the gym they could fit it. But for some reason, he finds he’s not mad.  Not one bit. When all the tiny heart confetti falls through the air and over them, he laughs as he takes in the sight of Shiro. They get in Shiro’s  little hair fluff and he cringes with a smile, trying to shake his head to get them out to no avail.

Keith lifts his hand and picks them out for him, pressing down amused laughter.  He has to yell over the booming speaker. “You sure you don’t want to keep them in your hair?  It looks really cute.”

Shiro leans down so Keith doesn’t have to reach up so high.  “‘Cute’ isn’t really what I’m going for.”

“No?”  Keith snorts.  “People would be jealous how effortlessly you obtain the look.  Some people spend hours each day trying to get there, you know?”

Shiro just rolls his eyes and pokes Keith on the nose as he straightens himself out.  He looks around at all the people and at the lights shining around them.

Keith sighs into it all, wishing he had remembered ear plugs.  “What does one even do at a dance?”

“Uh.  Dance, I guess?”

“Thanks for that.  I was thinking more -   _oof_!”  Pidge hurtles through the room and jumps on Keith’s back, clinging to him like a little koala.

Shiro smiles down at her.  “Hey, Pidge.”

“Hey, Shiro.  Mind if I borrow him for a bit?”

Shiro hesitates but, after Keith manages to detach Pidge from his back and stand without struggle, he pats Shiro on the shoulder.  “I’ll be _right back_ , I swear.”

“Okay,” Shiro says, nodding and taking a step back.  “I’ll go find a friend.”

Before Keith can see where Shiro wanders off to, Pidge has him by the arm and is dragging him into a corner that’s slightly more quiet than the dance floor.

“Uh, _hey_ ,” she pulls him down by the collar.  “What the heck, Keith? You and _Shiro_?  It’s finally happening!  Why didn’t you _tell me_?  Who asked who?”

He rubs at his forehead and shakes his head.  “No. No, I wish it was that way... I gave him a Valentine and he just completely ignored it.  I think this is sort of our apology to the other. ‘Sorry I confessed’. ‘Sorry I rejected’. We’re just here as friends.”

She frowns as she backs up.  “At a _Valentine's_ dance?”

“Well, you’re here with _Matt_.”

“He’s doing the light show.  I’m here for backup.”

Keith rolls his eyes.  “Look. I’ve got to go back to Shiro.  He was kind of down yesterday; I don’t want him thinking that just because he doesn’t want to like... _bone_ that we can’t still be friends, you know?  I think he’s worried about that.”

Pidge snorts and pats his back.  “How even one of you could live without the other seems like an impossible thought.  Go. You two are ridiculous. I wish you two would just get married already.”

“Friends don’t get married.”

“ _Go_.”

Keith wanders through the crowd.  Shiro isn’t where Keith left him, so he hunts along the outskirts of the people dancing, looking around curiously.  He feels kind of like an idiot, watching the couples all dancing together. It’s not just a few, or a majority, but _all_ of the people here.  People he’s grown up, people he knows, people he thought would never be able to get a date, they’re all on the dance floor together, loved.  And here he is, alone, lost without his partner.

And they’re not even dating.  It feels like there’s something wrong with him.  Undesirable. Shiro’s just pitying him by coming here together as friends.

Keith goes to sit on a little seat shoved off to the side and gets out his phone to text Shiro when he catches sight of him finally.

He’s out there, with the rest of them, in the middle of a group of girls, taking photos with them and smiling.

Keith’s stomach drops.  It’s her. It’s person A.

Keith bites at his lip.  He’s not sure why he’s so surprised by this feeling in his chest _again_.  It’s not like he didn’t realize that she had told Shiro yes, that Shiro had wanted to go to this dance with her together.  Keith knew it from the start.

But still.  The hurt just keeps tearing wider the more he has to see Shiro pulling away.

She has her arm around Shiro’s shoulder as she tugs him down to her height and takes a selfie with him.  Shiro looks like he’s having fun. He’s always been ridiculously photogenic and he loves the attention, he really does.

Keith never takes selfies.  He never brings Shiro into photos.

He doesn’t like the pink decorations and festivities like Shiro does.  He doesn’t do well in school like Shiro does either.

Keith is constantly getting into trouble with the teachers and his grades while Shiro excels.  Everyone looks at the both of them like Keith’s holding Shiro captive in this friendship.

Why would he ever have a chance to be more...?

Keith looks back down into his phone and, swallowing hard, deletes out the message to Shiro.  Shiro will be better off here, with his date. There’s no room for third wheels. It’s Keith who doesn’t have a place in this room with these people.

Keith wanders outside the gym, through the doors and into the cold of night.  He shivers. The air isn’t like it is inside the gym, warm and humid and filled with too many dancing sweating bodies.  It’s sharp and clean. Too sharp. It burns Keith’s nose and the complete numbing silence of the air around him feels obtrusive somehow, even though the low booming bass of the music still rumbles through the cement beneath his feet and vibrates in the distance behind him.

He travels out and away, around the corner and down the hill, where he can find some peace.

And he just sits.  And he cries.

He should be happy, he tells himself.  Happy because Shiro is moving on with his life with someone that he _likes_ , with someone he _wants_ to be with.  Someone he chose.

But he’s not.  There’s this awful crinkled up dark feeling sitting in his throat and occupying the expanse of his chest.  It feels sticky just to breathe.

He is honored to be Shiro’s brother.   _Honored_.  He just wishes...it could be a little bit more.

The way Shiro’s eyes sparkled as he laughed with that girl.  The way he blushed as he held onto the card before passing it over to her.  The work he put into it. The care. He must really like her...

Lucky.  She’s so lucky.

Keith wants to be the one to make Shiro that happy too.  He longs for it so deeply that it’s starting to rise to the surface, cutting him all way up through his soft tender heart.

He wants Shiro.

Just as he thinks that, a voice jolts him out of his misery from behind.  “...There you are. What are you doing all the way out here? You said you’d just be a second.”

...Shit.  It’s Shiro.  Somehow, he always knows.  Keith rubs at his face. “Uh.  It’s so hot in there. I needed some air.”

He doesn’t look up.  He can see through his peripheral the way Shiro has stopped in front of him, the stillness of his feet as he waits.

“...Are you crying?”  Shiro whispers.

“I’m not crying,” Keith denies, but he has to sniff as his nose and tears run.

“...You’re crying.  Keith, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.  Seriously.” Keith clenches his eyes shut and gathers himself in closer, hoping Shiro will decide to take pity on him and leave.  “Just go back inside. Your date awaits.”

There’s a long silence and then Shiro shifts.  He sits right beside Keith on the sidewalk, so close that they’re pressed together.

“...I’m not leaving you out here when you’re upset...  Let’s talk about it. What happened?”

Keith takes in a long, slow, deep breath through his hands.  He shakes them out and lets his eyes slide over up to Shiro’s patient face.

There’s only kindness there.  Only caring. And Keith feels himself fall in love just a little bit more.  It makes him feel just as warm as it makes him cold.

“Ugh,” Keith sniffs, rubbing his nose roughly with the back of his hand.  “It’s stupid... Juvenile. I feel like I’m in middle school again.”

“It’s okay.  No one else has to know.  It’s just me.”

Right.  Keith trusts Shiro for a reason.  He says softly, over his hand, “...The person I like doesn’t like me back.  I’m certain now. I saw him in the gym dancing with the person he _does_ like.  And I just thought...I dunno.  Surrounded by all those other couples all content, all enjoying the other’s company...it felt bad being in the middle of it as I am...  It was...lonely.”

He feels stupid admitting that aloud.  He suddenly has a fascination with his hands, looking anywhere but at Shiro.

Shiro’s voice is low and soft.  “I know it’s not the same, but...I’m here for you, Keith.”

“I know,” Keith whispers around the hurt lodged in his throat.  “You are here and that means so much to me.”

Shiro reaches over to calm Keith’s nervous picking at his fingers.  He gently places his hands over Keith’s. They can still hear the music from where they are, even if it’s distant, carried to them only in bits and pieces by the wind.

It’s a slow song, the perfect example of what Keith was talking about.  Strictly for couples. Never for him.

Shiro seems to realize that.

“This probably isn’t the most friend thing to ask,” Shiro clears his throat as he scratches at his temple nervously.  “...But...one dance...? As friends. It doesn’t have to be a slow dance. We can dance double-time.”

Keith laughs and rubs the leftover moisture from his face.  Keith likes the slow song. He likes the idea too. He slips off the seat and turns, holding his hand out for Shiro.  “Yeah. Why not? Triple-time.”

Shiro stands after him.

They face each other, the soft light from the moon grazing over them like concentrated starlight.

It is so unbelievably nice to be able to clasp onto both of Shiro’s hands and sink into the warmth of his shoulder.  Shiro’s so sturdy, inside and out. He’s always been Keith’s anchor, even before Keith can remember. He’s seen it in the pictures their mothers took, best friends from high school, just like sisters.  How Keith and Shiro literally grew up together, sharing each other’s cribs and toys, taking their first steps with the other around. Their first words. Their first friend. And everything else in between.

They were destined to know each other even before they were both born, just two little peas in the womb.

And they’re still here, together.  Everything will be alright.

“I know I wasn’t your first choice,” Keith says, wrapping his arms around Shiro tighter.  “...But I’m happy to be here with you tonight.”

Shiro tucks his head into the side of Keith’s neck as they slowly sway from side to side.  “...What do you mean by that...?”

Keith hums into Shiro, letting himself be rocked gently to the music.  “I was just sad for a bit,” he hums. It already feels so distant as he’s here, in Shiro’s arms.  “But I’ll get over it. I’m happy here with you just like this.”

Shiro leans in and squeezes the base of Keith’s neck comfortingly, rubbing out the tension in his shoulders.  “You don’t have to do that, Keith. You don’t have to pretend that it’s okay, that it doesn’t hurt. I know it does...”

Keith frowns at the tone of voice.  It’s empathy, someone speaking from experience.  He tilts his head back slightly, pulling away so he can see Shiro’s expression.  “...You? But...but what about your date?”

Shiro’s brow pulls together.  “We just came as friends, Keith.  I’m okay with it.”

“But I thought...”  Keith is confused. He takes a step back.  “I thought you liked her.”

Shiro blinks.  “‘Her’? ...Who are you talking about?”

Keith bites at his lip as he scrounges around for her real name.  “You...you already asked someone,” Keith mutters.

“Yeah.   _You_ ,” Shiro says, gesturing at him in pure confusion.  “It was _you_ I asked to go here with.  ...You’re the one who didn’t want to go as a couple.”  He pauses, taking in the look on Keith’s face. “I mean...right?”

Keith blinks.  “...What?”

They just stare at each other.

Shiro stammers, “The- the Valentine’s card that I left on your bed?  That you returned to me with your side unchecked?” He keeps staring.  “I mean...you even apologized.”

“That was...?  But I thought that was for the person you liked.”

“Yeah,” Shiro says again, bluntly.  “ _You_.”

Keith stares.  He feels like he’s in one of his dreams.  Maybe he is. “...What the fuck?” Keith shakes his head.  “But then _why_?   _You’re_ the one who rejected me.  I asked you; I did what you said about writing out my feelings.  Well, I made a card at least. And then I put my Valentine in your locker.  I saw it in your bag. And then _you_ apologized to _me_ afterward because you were rejecting me.  Weren’t you...?”

“ _Which_ Valentine?  The Frozen one?”

Keith spits.  “What??”

Shiro’s eyes go wider.   He goes breathless. “The-the cat one?”

“... _Yes_.  ...I saw you give the lion one to that one girl that one day and I thought it was over.  But you told me my crush should know how I feel regardless. So I did. ...My crush is you.”  Keith is so damn confused. “That one girl in my home ec class last year - that really pretty one - you gave her a Valentine in the quad.  You both looked so happy when you gave it to her, I thought... I thought this whole time...”

“No!”  Shiro starts in surprise.  “ _No_.  She makes cards and sells them online.  She has a whole online shop. She does really well for herself...I thought I’d ask for her opinion.  I’m _gay_.  What the fuck, Keith?  You seriously didn’t know?”

Keith’s mouth forms into a little surprised ‘o’ as he realizes what Shiro just said.  “I- I told Pidge and them that but everyone else said -”

“Keith, everyone else doesn’t know me like _you_.  Not Pidge, not your friends, no one in the school, no one in the _world_ but you.  I like _you_.  I’ve liked you for ages now.  Basically since we were kids. You know I’d follow you anywhere.”

Keith and Shiro stare at each other for a long quiet moment, the both of them letting everything absorb in slowly.  They dare to let the disappointment and buried hurt wash away. They allow themselves to believe, to smile at the other.

They burst up laughing.

Keith breathes hope around his grin.  “The card was for _me_?”

Shiro groans.  “ _Yes_.  I left it on your _pillow_.  I drew in the red lion!  I thought it was so obvious!”

“Oh, my god.  I thought you were just carrying it around with you and you accidentally dropped it -”

“-Onto your _pillow_?”

“I thought the world had a cruel sense of humor, okay!  You should’ve added our _names_ or something.  I’ve been in agony these past few days!”

“ _’ve_ been in agony these past few days,” Shiro says.  “I had _no idea_ who you liked.  I was wondering if you met some online lover you were hiding from me.  And I’ve been thinking this whole time, ‘why wouldn’t he tell me? Is it some shady guy who’s catfishing him?  Will he come swoop Keith away and I’ll have to go after them?’”

“ _Shiro_ , god,” Keith half groans, half laughs as he shoves his hands over his face.  “No... _No_ , how could I?  There’s never been anyone for me but you.  Never. Not since the day we met.”

“...No?”  Shiro murmurs softly, his laughter fading from his eyes, replaced with just this overwhelming fond warmth.  “...Our moms were both pregnant with us at the same times, you know. They were always hanging out together while they were pregnant with us.  If you really think about it, we met each other before we were even born.”

“...Yeah,” Keith whispers.  “I know what I said.”

Shiro’s smile softens as he reaches forward and gently takes Keith’s hands in his, lifting the other to feel the side of Keith’s cheek.  It’s newly intimate, but not uncomfortable. Not at all. “...I can’t believe this. You like me...?”

Keith nods into the touch, smiling gently up into Shiro’s face of wonder.  He feels the same sparkling awe in his own chest. “For so so long. And you like me...?”

“More than the entire world,” Shiro breathes.  “More than the whole universe.”

“Wow,” Keith whispers, gently touching his fingertips to Shiro’s jawline.  “And you love space.”

“I love it so much.”  Shiro leans forward, the implication of his words so clear that Keith feels his heart will burst as he takes it in.

Shiro kisses him.  Right at that moment, when Keith’s heart is so full that emotion feels like colors, an entirely new sense that blots out all the others.

Shiro kisses him soft and open and Keith kisses him back in kind.  It feels like an accumulation of all these years growing up together, waiting, hoping, knowing to treat the other with sacred softness, with all the care and love in their hearts the other has taught them to muster.

It’s a dream come true and Keith realizes, with a small warm jump in his heart, that Shiro is here with him.  Shiro is kissing him.

There was never anyone else.  The card was for him. The crush that Shiro had mentioned, that made him laugh and smile and blush about?

That was all about Keith.

He’s so so lucky.

 

There’s a knock on Keith’s bedroom door and Krolia swings in, tilting her head as she takes in the sight of Keith and Shiro sitting together on the bed, pressed up to each other closely.  They blink over at her.

“I’m going into town,” she says.  “Shiro, look after the house while I’m away, will you?”

Shiro chuckles.  “Yes, of course.”

“I can be responsible too, you know,” Keith says after her.

They can hear her chuckle as the door closes.  Soon after, the front door downstairs shuts and locks.

Keith deflates back onto the bed and pulls his hands out of Shiro’s pants.  “Oh, my _god_.  You don’t think she noticed, do you?”

“God, I told you this was a bad idea,” Shiro presses his lips together tightly to try to hide the blush across his face.  “I think the angle hid it.”

“I’m mortified,” Keith half groans and half laughs, rolling around in agony, but Shiro shifts, placing his hands on either side of Keith’s head, looking down into his face and smiling.

“It’s fine, Keith.  She would’ve said something if she’d seen.”

“...Mmyeah,” Keith sighs, smiling up into Shiro’s face.  “...She’s gone now, though.”

“Yes,” Shiro whispers.  “She is.”

Keith softens as Shiro reaches up and places the pad of his thumb to Keith’s lips.  Then, he reaches forward and replaces his finger with his mouth, kissing Keith deeply.

It’s been unbelievably easy to fall into each other like this, being this intimate with the other.  They’ve always been comfortable with the other. This is just one more step that they take together.

Shiro breaks off the kiss and twists a bit, reaching one of his hands into his back pocket to take out a familiar red card.

“Brought you something,” he whispers, pressing his lips to Keith’s temple one last time before pulling back slightly.

Keith chuckles low in his throat as he looks up into it.

“...I’m still baffled that you didn’t get this,”  Shiro says, opening it to show Keith. “I’ve always been the black lion and you’ve always been the red.  I thought for sure it was the most obvious thing I could’ve done. See?” He points to the ‘yes’ beneath Black.  “I already circled my ‘yes’...” His finger slides over. “There was just one thing missing.”

Beneath Red, the uncircled ‘yes’ resides.

Keith snorts as he snatches the card from him.  “Sue me. I thought it was just like that corny like, ‘you have no other options other than yes’, not that each ‘yes’ represented us.”

“It’s you and me,” Shiro says.

Keith laughs, looking down at the red and black lion nuzzled together, happy, warm.

“...You and me,” Keith murmurs.  “...It’s the best card, Shiro. When I was looking at it thinking that it belonged to that girl...I was so jealous.  I thought she was the luckiest person in the world. All along, it was me.”

Shiro hums into Keith’s neck.  “No, it was _me_.”

Keith grabs a pen from his desk and holds the card over the both of them.  They both look up and watch as Keith draws in his circle.

_Yes._

There.

It’s official now.  They’ve both said yes.

Shiro hums happily, snuggling into Keith’s neck so much that it tickles.  Keith laughs and nuzzles back.

It’s not about the title.  It’s not. But there is something so nice about being able to call the other ‘Valentine’.

So they do.  Keith was just complaining the other day about there being no need for a Valentine’s week, but suddenly, he doesn’t mind so much.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Shiro,” Keith murmurs, wrapping his arms around Shiro and bringing him in for a hug.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Keith.”

And they’re both the luckiest people in the entire world.  Keith thinks maybe even in the whole galaxy. The whole universe.

In all existence.  



End file.
